MANDATE: managing networks using database technology

Abstract

There has been a growing demand for the development of tools to manage enterprise communication networks. A management information database is the heart of a network management system- it provides the interface between all functions of the network management system and, therefore, has to provide sophisticated functionality allied with high performance. The authors introduce the design of MANDATE (MAnaging Networks using DAtabase TEchnology), a proposed database system for effectively supporting the management of large enterprise networks. The MANDATE design makes a conscious attempt to take advantage of the special characteristics of network data and transactions, and of advances in database technology, to efficiently derive some of the required management functionality.